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MaizeGDB Interface Redesign
During the 2011 Maize Meeting, MaizeGDB announced a 2-year plan for a site redesign. To accommodate the needs of the community, MaizeGDB will continue to take in new data, provide interfaces to new data when needed, and update the data on a regular basis (first Tuesday of the month). The challenges of a redesign will require that MaizeGDB undergo an interface freeze in July 2011. As stated, the database will continue to be updated, but functional changes to the interface will stop until the completion of the new interface (estimated to be complete in March 2013). Please continue to provide feedback to our site. Bug fixes and urgent updates will still be provided, but new functional features will be incorporated into the new site and not the existing site.
Details of the redesign can be found at the talk and poster presented at the 2011 Maize Meeting.
A quick overview of the operational, functional, and cosmetic changes:
Operational changes are focused on
- acting more like a data portal
- shifting toward greater interoperability
- easily integrating with off-site data
- handling large scale data (e.g. diversity, multiple fully sequence genomes)
Functional changes are focused on
- speeding up page load time
- developing improved visual tools
- integrating existing third-party solutions
- providing better and new data integration
Cosmetic changes are focused on
- improving navigation
- bringing hierarchal structure to the site
- creating new visuals (logo, icons, buttons)
- replacing the color scheme
- building more intuitive page organization and layouts
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Redesign Progress
March 2011: Redesign mockups completed, announced redesign at Maize Meeting
April 2011: MaizeGDB BLAST infrastructure and interface redesign begins
May 2011: Redesign templates finished, work continues on BLAST tool
June 2011: Working versions of MaizeGDB home page and locus record page completed
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